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With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

nytimes.com

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Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#441

Post by seppin »

mbroncano wrote: post #414
Jdam wrote: post #342

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a European, I noticed that discussions held here about X in the US _always_ converge against their healthcare. "Salary in the US is higher" - but heir healthcare sucks "Weather in California is nicer than in Oslo" - But you don't have healtcare "New York is such a great city to live in" - But you're left for dead

You got it right, it's difficult to imagine for a European what it's like to deal with having no medical care if unemployed. In addition, the fact that's part of every discussion gives a hint of how much of an issue this is.

> You got it right, it's difficult to imagine for a European what it's like to deal with having no medical care if unemployed.

you buy subsidized insurance. do Europeans really think the USA is just a free for all ?

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#442

Post by Yizahi »

skywhopper wrote: post #419

The author of this article has soaked up the conventional wisdom about Apple's pricing. Yes, they don't sell cheap phones, and sure they make a healthy profit, but it doesn't then follow that the product is overpriced. The iPhone has always been an extremely high-quality product and has always been competitively priced versus comparable models from other phone makers. So why do they have the reputation of premium pri…

Not extremely. Merely high quality. Numerous cases with broken buttons even on brand new devices, wi-fi failure issues, gps failure issues. Yes, it is anecdotal cases but so are all others for different brands.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#443

Post by notsrg »

rb808 wrote: post #438

The real expensive part in the US is the cell plan. Excluding the phone, the mainstream plans are $60+/mo with taxes. If you're paying $720 a year for cell service a $1k phone really isn't that much. (I would never pay $60/mo but lots of people do)

Don't look at the prices Canadians pay (for less), you might choke on something.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#444

Post by alacombe »

flukus wrote: post #172
bambax wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, but why do we need "software updates"? If the phone still works and is able to do the job what difference does it make? I had a Moto G for over 3 years that cost $150 in 2014 and which continued to work perfectly with zero updates (Android 4.4) during that period. It finally died last month when I tried to recharge it on an USB cable that I wired backwards (on a motorcycle). Replaced it with a $120 Lenovo that'…

> Okay, but why do we need "software updates"? If the phone still works and is able to do the job what difference does it make? Yes, maybe not updates as such but we certainly need security patches. Any network connected device does and phones are more connected than most, frequently sharing networks with strangers or friends that aren't tech savy enough to keep their environment secure..

Most of my family members (ie. >70yo. non tech folks) skip all update altogether, security or not. The argument is that updates introduce features changes which bother their experience and force them to figure out where everything is.

In layman terms, security updates are seen as trojan horse for larger updates they don't want.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#445

Post by thanksgiving »

tertius wrote: post #386
Jdam wrote: post #342

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a European, I noticed that discussions held here about X in the US _always_ converge against their healthcare. "Salary in the US is higher" - but heir healthcare sucks "Weather in California is nicer than in Oslo" - But you don't have healtcare "New York is such a great city to live in" - But you're left for dead

Healthcare sucks AND it's ridiculously expensive.

Yes! As a twenty something single I was shocked that people saw paying $200 out of pocket each month as a privilege that comes with working. Clearly, for me it was a pure waste because I used exactly zero dollars worth of health care myself. Of course, people with infants absolutely need it. I had a coworker who had basically the same story as Jimmy Kimmel (newborn with heart defect). I can't imagine how much quality care would cost if he didn't have health insurance through work. I mean at some point there were apparently dozens of specialists involved with the case... I'm sure each of them are billed at hundreds of dollars each hour.

I just want to say that at the end of the day there is no solution other than reducing the cost: be it healthcare or education or retirement...

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#446

Post by jsjohnst »

KozmoNau7 wrote: post #215
dvfjsdhgfv wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not true. Yes, there are snobs, and there is a lot of subjectivity involved, an several studies exposed that. On the other hand, some wines have a certain richness of flavor not present in other wines. Certain aspects of it can be better appreciate by people who developed a certain taste of wines and can differentiate better. They're the target group of the more expensive wines. You pay for a unique experience,…

With wine and spirits, you're often paying for rarity, rather than outright quality. I'm not a huge wine snob (most wines I buy are in the $10-$20 range), but I have tasted some rather expensive wines. In a lot of cases, you're not really paying for "richness of flavor" (a lot of cheaper wines have plenty of richness and balance), you're paying for name and for rarity, especially when it comes to older wines. I'm act…

For the most part, I agree with your post. Interestingly, most of my favorite whiskeys are around $400ish too. That said, my absolute favorite (35yr Hibiki) I can absolutely tell the difference with and it's much more expensive than that.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#447

Post by Yetanfou »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #160
tekklloneer wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or, you're using snapchat, or instagram, or signal.

Or, any other IM program (including text messages). Or getting directions. Or checking departure time of a bus. Or switching a song that's playing. Or turning my Hue lights on/off. Or checking my account balance. Or paying with the phone. Each of those actions should take no more than couple of seconds (occasionally, a couple dozen). And it can, if your phone is not lagging out after lockscreen or when trying to load…

All these things work just fine on these older devices. The pauses the original message mentioned are mostly encountered when starting or switching between applications. Once the application is running things work as intended. I use Telegram on that Motorola Defy I mentioned, no problems. It runs navigation apps (Navigon, OsmAnd~) without problems. It takes photo's of reasonable quality, those photo's can be edited on the device. I use it to play music on the device itself using Dsub (a Subsonic client) or Apollo, to control remote players using MPDroid (which controls mpd (music player daemon) on remote devices). It plays video from the likes of Youtube and Vimeo just fine. I use it to read books and publications, no problems. I even use it as a telephone every now and then...

It can take a few seconds to switch between any of these apps, especially when there are several of them running in the background. Would a new device be faster? Sure it would. Will I buy a new device sometime in the future? Sure, when this device kicks the bucket or another device shows up which offers the same feature set (good performance (compared to current devices), good battery, waterproof and sorta-shockproof yet still looks like a normal device instead of some prop from a B-movie). Do I feel like I'm missing out on something by using a 6 year old phone? No, I do not.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#448

Post by esolyt »

seppin wrote: post #441
mbroncano wrote: post #414

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You got it right, it's difficult to imagine for a European what it's like to deal with having no medical care if unemployed. In addition, the fact that's part of every discussion gives a hint of how much of an issue this is.

> You got it right, it's difficult to imagine for a European what it's like to deal with having no medical care if unemployed. you buy subsidized insurance. do Europeans really think the USA is just a free for all ?

They do because that's how most educated Americans describe their country to Europeans.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#449

Post by leadingthenet »

jdietrich wrote: post #206
dannysu wrote: post #18

Nobody looks at a top of the line PC with the best graphics card(s) and say it's crossing a threshold. Everybody understands it's for a certain demographic. According to rumors, they're still going to have various models and price points. Also, iPhones are extremely economical because no other phones receive OS updates for as long. My iPhone 6, which cost $749 at the time, is coming up to 3 years old. It's still flaw…

Diminishing returns kick in at a remarkably low price point, especially outside the US. $250 gets you a Xiaomi Mi A1 - a phone with a 1080p display, a full metal body, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of flash, a fast 8-core processor and guaranteed software updates directly from Google. http://www.mi.com/in/mi-a1/ Is a $750 iPhone really three times better than that phone? Is it even 5% better? If I were an Apple shareholder, I'd b…

> Is a $750 iPhone really three times better than that phone? Is it even 5% better?

Yes, it is. Three times better might be an exaggeration, but it has unique features that basically no other phone has currently, and that's worth different things to different people.

Re: With a $1k Price, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold

#450

Post by Goronmon »

jsjohnst wrote: post #423
andai wrote: post #381

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've used a case with almost every phone and shattered 4 screens in the last 4 years.

Not to be rude, but it'd likely be prudent for you to learn to be more careful.

That's some pretty worthless advice you've got there.
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